Time Isn’t the Problem — Here’s What Is

We’re all guilty of saying it. Myself included. But do we understand the effects that take place when we say, “I don’t have time.” And more importantly, are we willing to do something about it?

We’re continuing our discussion on time and priorities by digging into the heart behind the phrase, “I don’t have time”.

This single phrase has become an annoying tug on my spirit. I catch myself before the grumbling complaint can fly from my mouth. And it sounds like nails on a chalkboard when it bursts from someone else’s.

There is much behind this phrase that we may not even realize, and today we’re pulling back the layers to reveal the hidden truths. You won’t want to miss this, my friend. It’s gonna be good.

Why Saying “I Don’t Have Time” Is Spiritually Damaging

Before we dive in to deeply, let’s start by explain why this phrase can be damaging if left uncheck.

When we repeatedly say “I don’t have time,” we set down the calling God placed on us — whether that’s a book, a message, or a ministry through our creativity.

We’ve been learning that time is a resource—like money. And if we feel as though we lack time or that there is never enough time, then we need to address the underlying issues that are causing those feelings.

Is it fear? Is it worry? Is it a level of distrust because roots of unbelief have gone unchecked?

No shame or condemnation in this space. But it does bear repeating that our issues with time, money, and other resources start in the heart. And we have to be willing to at least see them for what they are.

The Real Meaning Behind “I Don’t Have Time”

Because our key phrase today, “I don’t have time,” essentially translates as “XYZ is not a priority”.

Want to have a healthier lifestyle but never can find time to eat right and exercise? Then a healthier lifestyle is not a priority for you.

Want to finish that book, but you never find the time to write. Then, my friend, the sad reality is the book isn’t a priority.

We always make time for the things that truly matter most to us. I often tell people, “Show me your schedule and you’ll show me your priorities.”

So it’s less about whether or not you have time and more to do with how you prioritize the time you do have.

Can you see why the phrase “I don’t have time” has begun to grate on my nerves?

Us not completing our books or leveling up in our businesses isn’t because we don’t have the time. The time is there. It’s a matter of how we’re prioritizing it and what we’re honestly giving our hearts to.

When Writing Isn’t the Priority — And That’s Okay

Now, before this heart chat sounds too harsh, let me add a caveat for the one who may be listening to this while going through major life storms.

If you’re going through the type of life season where all you can do is cling to Jesus, pray, and endure to the end, then, sweet friend, your priorities are going to look different—and that’s okay.

I think I’ve shared a little about my 2023 experience. Honestly, I can’t remember what I’ve shared and what I haven’t. But let me give a quick peek as a reference for our caveat here.

In 2018, God started a major transformation process in my life when He redeemed my heart. Then, in 2019, much of that began to shift in epic, beautiful, and mind-blowing ways. The unfortunate part of my journey was spending 4 years in intense warfare. 2023 was by far the hardest year of my life. I’ve often joked with people, saying that it was the year that tried to kill me. My daughter jokes that it’s the year we do not speak of.

It was the year of betrayal. The year of deep sorrow. The year of deep rejection.

I didn’t know if my marriage was gonna make it.

I didn’t know from one day to the next if I’d have a house to live in because of the choices of another.

Our finances were shot.

Warfare was through the roof as I fought tooth and nail for a loved one on the verge of suicide.

All I had the strength to do was cling to Jesus, and by His miraculous grace, I survived that horrific year.

I focused on my daughter’s school work. I focused on keeping our church going. I made sure bills were paid and we had food to eat. I only had enough energy each day for the necessities. That was it.

Writing was not a priority in that season, and that was okay.

What to do when you are in a survival season

The good news is that seasons like that are never permanent. Seasons are constantly changing. That time in my life is over, and the season my family is walking in now is worlds different than our 2023 selves.

So, sweet friend, if you are in a similar season, then don’t feel pressured to force schedules in a way that doesn’t align with your season. Especially if you’re not under contract with a publisher.

It’s okay if writing isn’t a priority right now. Because that won’t be the case forever. Your health matters, and your readers will want you to take care of yourself.

A few quick tips to help you in such a season:

• First, remain with Jesus. Abide in Jesus. Literally cling to Him.
• Then soak up the word of God until it feels like home to you.
• Also, pray, rejoice, and find gratitude in even the smallest things.
• Last tip, create as an outpouring and not for work. Not to make money with your creativity right now. You can use something else for means of funds, but have something special that releases all that’s building up within you. Emotions have a way of festering and causing a type of spiritual decay. Let it all out so that you can find healing in Christ Jesus.

If this caveat is resonating and you’d like to chat more, please don’t hesitate to send me an email. I am proof that dark nights of the soul don’t last forever. There is hope. And I would be honored to help you in any way I can.

How Fear Sabotages Your Time

Now, with that caveat aside, the rest of this heart chat is for those of us who are not in a dark night season and who need to get our acts together. And yes, I’m saying “we” for a reason.

Because if you’re toes feel stepped on at any point today, then it’s because this message stepped on mine for a good portion of this year.

And our goal today isn’t to just dish about how damaging the phrase of “I don’t have time” is to our writing, family, and business. But we want to pull back the layers, let truth shine upon the hidden places, and then rise up from the pit of procrastination and fear that’s holding us back in ways we may not have realized.

So if time isn’t the issue, then what is? Because this phrase is born from a place of fear and apathy. Plain and simple.

Apathy might seem like an odd connection, but I’ll explain why in a moment.

First, let’s break down the fear responses.

Fear Steals Your Focus and Your Calling

Many of us will procrastinate because we want to avoid the negative emotions we’ve convinced ourselves will occur if we choose to face a project head-on.

Notice that I said convince ourselves. Avoidance tactics are employed against something that hasn’t happened yet. We’re avoiding what we have imagined will happen. Not the reality.

What feeds our imagination could be based on past experiences, such as criticism or battling perfectionism. Or having our insecurities exposed, triggering anxiety, overwhelm, or frustration.

Yet that doesn’t change the fact that we’re pouring so much fear into a moment that hasn’t occurred yet. We’re worrying over scenarios that aren’t our current reality.

Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

The scripture encourages us not to get worked up about the things that haven’t happened yet. Focus on today’s wrestles. Overcome today, and the Lord will help you overcome tomorrow.

A Personal Story: When God Confronted My Fear

I have to pause the chat real quick to share a confession about this. I have gained a lot of ground over fear thanks to the deep work of the Lord in my life. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have moments of weakness or that I exercise all of these truths perfectly.

Recently, in conversation with the Lord, He revealed how I’m borrowing time with worry. There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes. Big projects I’m working on, both in writing new books, but also in laying down a foundation for the future things to come for the podcast and stewarding fellow writers like you.

But I’m stressing over whether or not things will work out.

Will people even want the book I’m writing, or is the concept too far out there?

Will I even get enough sales because I’m determined to grow my business off social media?

And the list goes on and on. I’m striving to remain faithful, to stand upon the promises and proclaim the faithfulness of God, but in the back of my mind, I’m wondering if it’s all going to work out in the end or if this is all for nothing.

And just the other day, I was having yet another “will it ever” moment regarding a promise that had been given to my family. Back in 2020, the Lord spoke that He was going to give us a house. Since then, He’s been doing a miraculous work internally to really shape us into a family that I could never have imagined us becoming. We are solid. We are divinely established. And we are in a place together that testifies to the miraculous hand of God.

Yet, on the physical side of things. We do not yet have our house. This house is not a me only desire. My daughter has been making plans for the new house just as long as I have. We’ll often walk through a store, see something cute, and be inspired with fresh ideas for what we could do inside our new house.

At the new house, she wants more chickens.

At the new house, she wants a pig.

At the new house, she wants a pool. And the list goes on.

My girl dreams big.

But my girl also turned 15 this year. She has two years before she graduates from high school and begins the next stage of her life.

So in this recent conversation with the Lord, I shared my heart and my worry over whether or not there will be enough time for her to enjoy the new house. I asked the Lord if the promise would be fulfilled in time for her to enjoy it.

And, my friend, I want you to scoot in close because I don’t want you to miss God’s response here.

He said to me, “Desiree, can you believe that I care about your daughter’s dreams too?”

As a mom, that hit me so hard. Could I believe that God cares about what matters to my daughter, too?

That simple question, said with so much love, broke something within me that needed to be broken.

Fear is really good at blinding us. To the point that we can lose sight of the true nature and faithfulness of God. And worry will act as a siphon, stealing our peace until we’re drained dry.

Worry will lead to despair, and despair is a direct opposite of hope.

And on that day, I needed the Holy Spirit to stir up fresh hope in my heart. Because God has never left me nor forsaken me. He is not a man that He should lie. If He made a promise, He will be faithful to it. His timing is not my timing.

Can we believe that we do matter to God?

Can we cast all our cares upon Him and believe that He really does care about us?

Fear does not dictate your future.

Because remember: we were not given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

And perfect love cast out fear (referencing 1 John 4:18).

So what does this have to do with time and procrastination?

A lot. Because what we fix our eyes on will determine if we stand or if we sink.

Peter did fine walking on water as long as his eyes were fixed on Jesus. But as soon as he focused on the storm, he sank.

Whether or not we stand our ground with our time will be determined by what has our full attention.

As I said earlier, procrastination is either rooted in fear or apathy.

Apathy: The Silent Enemy of Your Writing Time

Apathy isn’t something that’s talked about often, which means it’s not on many people’s radar.

For my fellow word nerds, let’s define apathy.

From a Biblical viewpoint, apathy shows up as spiritual numbness, passivity, lukewarmness, or misplaced priorities.

If some of those are new-to-you terms, let’s break them down real quick.

• Spiritual indifference or spiritual numbness is a lack of interest or passion for things of God, resulting in a dullness toward spiritual matters. Also, a feeling of being emotionally numb to the spiritual life, even while knowing what one “should” do.
  • For example, we know we “should” pray, we “should” hunger to read our Bibles, we “should” be eager to connect with God, but we honestly have no heart for it or could even care less. Those are signs of spiritual numbness.
• Passivity is a state of inaction and failure to actively engage in one’s faith, likened to the servant who buried his talent out of fear.
• Lukewarmness is a state of being neither “hot nor cold,” as described for the church in Laodicea, leading to self-satisfaction and neglect.
• For Perverted priorities: Apathy can lead to indifference toward issues that matter to God and a justification of minor immoralities as unimportant.

Toes feeling crunched yet? Been there too. Trust me.

I love it when we dive deep like this, pulling back the layers of our excuses to find the root causes. Because those roots and hidden depths will reveal the quality of our hearts and shine a light on the areas that we need to have addressed by the Lord.

How to Break Free From Apathy and Reignite Passion

When we think of the Holy Spirit, we tend to relegate Him as a lower-level member of the Trinity. And as such, we can unfortunately ignore Him when He wants to step in and operate as Counselor, Teacher, Comforter, etc.

But when the Holy Spirit steps in to shine truth upon those hidden areas of our hearts and minds, then we have the divine opportunity of breaking free of the very things chaining down our hope, joy, peace, and creativity.

We can then grow our faith muscles to overcome those avoidance and procrastination tactics, developing the courage to face things head on and produce sustainable outcomes for our writing and business goals.

And we need the Holy Spirit’s help with this because we need our spirit to be stronger than our flesh. Our flesh will always desire the path of least resistance. The path that inspires us to have the least amount of sacrifice while still hoping for great, optimum gain.

But, friend, real life doesn’t work that like. Especially if we want to make a kingdom impact.

To have a kingdom impact will require sacrifice. And our flesh will never feel comfortable with that. However, the Holy Spirit loves to come alongside us to see the will of the Father completed in our lives.

In John 4:34, Jesus told His disciples that what sustained Him, what fed Him, was to do the will of the Father and to finish His work—to complete what God had started through Him.

Could you imagine Jesus procrastinating or taking the easy way out? Can you imagine Him taking the path of least resistance?

No, neither can I. So let’s stop with the fleshly practice and draw closer to the Father’s heart. Not being ashamed of our need for His strength, wisdom, guidance, and understanding to see us through to the finish line.

Your Time Is an Offering — Not a Limitation

We are invited to partner with God to do greater-than-us things with our writing. We are not commanded to perform miracles or do the impossible.

Let’s submit our lives as living sacrifices and allow the Father full liberty to use our lives and the works of our hands in mighty, wondrous, and glorious ways.

You can point others to Jesus simply by being a yielded and surrendered vessel.

But that’s going to require letting go of the pride of how you think things should go and lifting your eyes unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith, allowing Him to finish the good work according to what He knows is best.

We are fallible beings. But we serve an infallible God.

Can we trust Him to teach us how to steward our time, teach us how to manage well our capacities, and to help us increase in wisdom and knowledge so that the work He began in us will be finished for His glory?

And let’s show that trust by faithfully walking in obedience to complete the tasks and assignments He’s given us.

Namely, your writing projects.

And I’m not talking about rushing through just to reach the finish line faster. I’m talking about removing distractions, pruning priorities, and giving an honest reflection of weaker areas that are causing you to partner with the lie, saying you don’t have time.

You have time, my friend. Let’s prioritize it well and use it wisely.

A Practical Challenge for Christian Writers

I’d love to challenge you to take a look at your schedule for today (or this week overall) and block out one writing block—even if it’s twenty minutes—and guard that time fiercely. Make it an appointment that you purposefully keep with God.

And if you need some accountability help, message me. I’d love to back you up on this and might even join you for a sprint as added support to ensure you get words on the page.

Closing Encouragement

As we come to a close today, I’d love to leave you with Isaiah 26:3-4 for you to ponder on as you sit with the Holy Spirit.

My friend, I’m praying for you and believing for mighty things to unfold in your life as you courageously surrender your time unto the Lord as a beautiful offering.

May the Lord fill you with peace, strength, joy, and a hope that stands through all storms.

Want to keep the conversation going?

If you found this encouraging and know of another writer who’d be blessed by this heart chat, send them a link to this post. I have no doubt that they’ll thank you for it.

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Prefer listening over reading? Check out this episode on either Apple Podcast or Spotify.

I’m so grateful for you and can’t wait to see you next time.

Until then, happy writing, and enjoy the journey.